ESA joined with the leaders of 28 science organizations and sent a November 23 letter to President-elect Donald Trump urging him to meet with them and to appoint a science advisor quickly. The letter pointed to science and technology as an important driver of U.S. economic growth. It also suggests a new White House position of “Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.”

President-elect Donald Trump has made some top-level appointments in the last two weeks, but many more positions remain unfilled. Following is a discussion of appointments important to the ecological community, beginning with the nominations that have already been announced.

White House senior counselor Steve Bannon was formerly executive chairman of the right-wing Breitbart News and chief executive officer of the Trump presidential campaign. During the Republican National Convention, Bannon bragged that Breitbart News had become the home of the “alt-right,” a name embraced by many white supremacists that mixes reactionary conservatism, racism and populism.

Bannon has condemned climate change as an invention of activists, university researchers and renewable energy industry profiteers-a corrupt swindle that is damaging the economy. Through Breitbart News, he has condemned Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change and the environment, the Paris Climate Agreement, and NOAA and NASA’s climate change research. This is likely to characterize Bannon’s advice to President-elect Trump. Bannon’s climate denial is confounded by his tenure as director of “Biosphere 2,” from 1993-5, an earth systems science research project, which he emphasized as an experiment relating to pollution and global warming.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, formerly chairman of the Republican National Committee, also embraces hard-core climate denial-“most of it is a bunch of bunk.” A party functionary since 2007, when elected as chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Priebus is credited with bringing together Tea Party interests with the mainstream Republican Party, building it into a “coast to coast” force. His policy positions include support of the Keystone XL pipeline. As the president’s gate-keeper, Priebus will be the person most responsible for guiding the new administrations agenda through Congress.

White House counsel Don McGhan, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and general counsel to the Trump campaign, is a staunch libertarian. His primary expertise is in government regulation and political law. His brief at the White House will be broad, however, where he will advise the president on all legal issues surrounding the administration-including the legality of executive orders and legislation. He will also be influential in vetting potential administration appointees, including to the Supreme Court. He is thought to be assisting Mr. Trump in navigating anti-nepotism laws to appoint his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to a formal administration position.

Bannon, Priebus and McGhan’s appointments do not require Senate confirmation.

Attorney General nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), is a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works where he is a staunch climate denier and an advocate for increased fossil energy production. His lifetime rating on environmental issues by the League of Conservation Voters is 7%. Most of his voice while serving in Congress has been in opposition to immigration.

As attorney general, the chief law-enforcement officer in the U.S., Sessions will need to pass Senate confirmation of the Judiciary Committee, where he is currently a senior member. He failed before that same committee in a 1986 judicial nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, primarily on civil rights concerns. Those issues are likely to once again be an issue in his upcoming confirmation hearings. However, his approval seems likely this time with few Republican defections expected and a filibuster of Cabinet picks disallowed by a Democratic Senate rules change three years ago.

Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and conservative activist, is a staunch advocate for school choice and vouchers. She and her children are products of private school education, exclusively. DeVos is a major Republican donor, giving more than $2.75 million in the 2016 election cycle and her family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the Republican Party. However, she has no experience in education or school administration. A religious conservative, she is on the board of the Acton Institute, which merges corporate interest and “dominion theology,” promoting “. . . a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious [Christian] principles.” This combination of school vouchers and Christian advocacy concerns many educational leaders about the pick.

Other rumored cabinet appointments for departments with science and environment implications may include the following picks.

Agriculture

Several names are in play for the USDA top job: Forrest Lucas, founder of Lucas Oil Products and supporter of trophy hunting and puppy mills; Governor Mary Fallin (R-OK), a leading Clean Power Plan opponent who issued an “oilfield prayer day” proclamation in October; Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS); Chuck Connor, CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; Former governors Dave Heineman (R-NE), Sonny Perdue (R-GA) and Rick Perry (R-TX) (also mentioned for Energy and Defense); Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner (R). Agriculture, in part, oversees the farming industry, food safety and Forest Service.

Energy

Harold Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources, continues to be seen as the top pick although Interior is another possibility.

Others mentioned for the job include these names: Robert Grady, Gryphon Investors partner (also mentioned for E.P.A.); James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush; Former Governor Rick Perry (R-TX), a former Trump rival.

It is worth noting that the Energy Department’s primary portfolio is to protect and manage the U.S. nuclear infrastructure and weapons arsenal.

Environmental Protection Agency

Myron Ebell, a director at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a prominent climate change skeptic, is emerging as a leading pick. Others mentioned for the positing may include: Robert Grady; Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R), a leader in the court fight over the Clean Power Plan; Kathleen Hartnett White (R), former chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Jeffery Holmstead, a lawyer specializing in environmental and natural resources issues and former E.P.A. administrator in the George W. Bush administration.

Department of Interior

Governor Mary Fallin (R-OK) is emerging as a possible top pick, having recently met with President-elect Trump to discuss the possibility. Others mentioned include: Frank Lucas, Harold Hamm, Robert Grady, as well as former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ), and Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Former Governor Sarah Palin is mentioned by some, but is increasingly seen as an unlikely choice. Hamm and Grady also have been mentioned as top Energy picks while Lucas is a contender for Agriculture. Through its various bureaus and offices, including the USGS, Interior controls coal, oil and gas development on public lands.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Former Representative Bob Walker (R-PA), Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and Mark Albrecht are considered possibilities. Walker and Albrecht are leading the NASA transition team. Walker formerly chaired the House Science Committee and the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. Albrecht is currently chairman of the board of U.S. Space LLC and was a principal space advisor to President George H.W. Bush. Bridenstine, a former Navy pilot, is a Freedom Caucus member and has been active on a wide variety of space issues. In April, he introduced the American Space Renaissance Act, H.R.4945 , a comprehensive policy bill addressing issues of national security and civil and commercial space.

The other cabinet picks, named or very likely are wide ranging: Representative Tom Price (R-GA), a leading voice against the Affordable Care Act as head of Health and Human Services; Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS), Tea Party activist and member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for Central Intelligence Agency; Dr. Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and former Trump rival, for Housing and Urban Development; Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC), seen as a “pragmatist” on climate change, for U.N. Ambassador; Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, for Commerce; former Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), a retired Army National Guard colonel, for Veterans Affairs; Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of Nucor Corporation, a steel company, and critic of Chinese trade practices, for U.S. Trade Representative; Representative Lou Barletta (R-PA), a member of the House Transportation Committee, for Transportation.

The November 11 dismissal of Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) as chairman of President-elect Trump’s transition team upset the process he had been leading since May 9. Though quickly replaced by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, formal and organization issues delayed key parts of the work. After purging many Christie loyalists, key positions remain unfilled.

In the weeks since Christie’s dismissal, the Trump team has slowly named new transition team members and “landing teams” for various agencies. Peter Theil, a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist was placed on the transition team and may be a key advisor in Trump’s science policy development. Prior to the election, Theil called for more federal investment in science and technology. Most recent landing team announcements for the Department of Defense include Trae Stephens, who is a principal of Theil’s Founder Fund. Kelly Mitchell, renewable energy advocate and sales account manager at Multi Automatic Tool and Supply Co., is the second name announced for Energy team, whose leader is Tom Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research.

Landing teams work with outgoing administration officials to smooth the transfer of power, but will not necessarily be hired for full-time jobs. The Trump team has been naming the landing teams in “waves,” with the first to be assigned was for national security matters, followed by teams for economic issues, domestic policy and independent agencies.

The State Department team has already outlined a strategy to exit the Paris Agreement. The Defense team is likely to recommend revoking an Obama directive requiring Pentagon agencies to account for climate change in planning and procedures. The team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is expected to favor of space exploration over earth science research. Meanwhile, some government scientists are considering avoiding the phrase “climate change” with the onset of the new administration.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) in a November 17 meeting told House Republicans that President-elect Donald Trump wants a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding through March. This scenario would upend previous plans to pass as many appropriations bills as possible in the current lame duck session. Senate GOP leaders fear that Trump’s plan could derail the first months of his presidency as spending bills could crowd out other matters, such as confirming administration nominees, healthcare reform and infrastructure spending.

House Appropriations Chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) is working on a resolution to keep the government open through March 31, noting “The Trump administration had a desire to have an impact in what was in the spending bill when they take office.”

Members of the conservative Freedom Caucus were particularly pleased with the Trump CR plan. It is expected that they will seek to link new spending hikes to the concerns about federal debt limit, which is currently suspended through March 16. Previous increases in the debt limit have often led to brinksmanship and even government closure in the fall of 2013.

Other Legislation

Appropriations and a continuing resolution will dominate the 114th Congress lame duck session; however, water and energy bills might move.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2016, S.2848 in the Senate and H.R.5303 in the House, made significant progress before recess for the elections. Each body passed separate versions that are now subject to conference negotiations. Representative Bob Gibbs (R-OH), chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, expressed doubt that a conference bill would reach the president’s desk. Funding for the lead contamination crisis in Flint, MI was the subject of a late deal breaking a stalemate in late September. It appears that the issue could once again derail passage.

The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016, S.2012 in the Senate and H.R.8 in the House, are already in conference with counter-proposals being exchanged. The surprise election of Donald Trump, however, appears to have derailed negotiations with House Republicans sensing an advantage in the new Congress and administration. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), after meeting with his House and Senate counterparts last week, suggested that only relatively minor areas have been agreed to in conference.

The Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016, H.R.5982, would amend the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (CRA) to allow Congress to consider a joint resolution to disapprove multiple regulations that federal agencies have submitted for congressional review within the last 60 legislative days of a session of Congress during the final year of a president’s term. The current CRA allows Congress to overturn any executive branch rule, one rule at a time, within 60 days of its finalization in the Federal Register. The House passed H.R.5982 without amendment on November 17, forwarding it for consideration by the Senate. It seems unlikely to pass in this Congress, but could come up again in the next Congress. However, Democrats minority in the Senate has narrowed to only three seats, from ten, and a possible filibuster might be sustained.

The University of Florida Water Institute is seeking 6 highly motivated doctoral-degree students for Fellowships that provide an annual stipend, tuition waiver and health insurance for 4 years starting fall term 2017.

These PhD students will work collaboratively within this interdisciplinary team of Fellows and their faculty advisors. The focus project takes a comprehensive systems approach to analysis of interbasin transfer of surface water into the Tempisque River watershed in Costa Rica. This water transfer has altered hydrology, land use, economic structure, and health of the downstream Palo Verde wetland in the Tempisque watershed.

Each student will develop a selected disciplinary expertise on the system while becoming well-rounded and knowledgeable in all other disciplinary aspects of the project. While pursuing a PhD in their respective department, all students will be located together in the same office in order to encourage interdisciplinary research discussions. As such, beyond the usual criteria of academic excellence, we will look especially for open-minded candidates eager to work across disciplines and willing to become proficient in Spanish in order to gain a deeper appreciation of the issues.

Applicants should have a strong demonstrated interest in water issues and either a Master’s degree in natural sciences, social sciences, or engineering, or a JD degree. Exceptional students with a Bachelor’s degree plus research experience in an appropriate discipline will also be considered. Persons from groups under-represented in science and engineering professions are encouraged to apply.

This is a developing story and some statements in this article will change.

With the elections behind us, many in the academic and scientific sphere are bracing for the next administration’s policy platforms and subsequent implementation. Congress and the Executive Branch now share the same political party and federal funding for scientific research and federal policy in addressing climate change is in question.

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” pledged to rescind Clean Power Plan rules, and promised to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Rather than continue ambitious climate-focused initiatives, the Trump team has emphasized clean water, food supplies and disease eradication. These positions are consistent with his answers to Sciencedebate.org’s 20 questions on science-driven issues.

In the past several years, Congress attached many poison-pill-climate-research riders into appropriations bills. Most of the riders were stripped from the final appropriations bills due to veto threats from President Obama. Everything changed with the 2016 election results. Congress is in session this week , and there are discussions of passing another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government past Dec. 9 when the current CR expires. Congress may decide to punt passage of the FY 2017 federal budget into the new year when a new Congress and administration can rewrite the appropriations bills to favor their policy positions. On the other hand, speculation is that Congress will pass the FY 2017 federal budget by Dec. 9 to avoid saddling the new administration with responsibility for the FY 2017 federal budget within its first one-hundred days. On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus will become his chief of staff. Priebus is a Washington political insider who knows how Washington works and is seen as able to work with congressional leadership.

President-elect Trump is racing to form a government ready to take the reins on January 20, 2017. The transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be led by Myron Ebell, of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a prominent climate change denier, proud to be listed as a “climate criminal” by Greenpeace. Ebell is also seen as a leading contender to become EPA administrator. Other possibilities include Joe Aiello of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Caro Comer of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and attorneys general who filed suit against the Clean Power Plan, including Arkansas’ Leslie Rutledge, Oklahoma’s Scott Pruitt and West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey.

Mike McKenna leads the transition team at the Department of Energy (DOE). He is an energy industry lobbyist whose 2016 clients include Koch Companies Public Sector LLC, electric utility Southern Company Services, Dow Chemical Co., and Competitive Power Ventures Inc. Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resource is a leading fracking proponent and seen as the top candidate for Energy secretary. Hamm is a long-time friend of Trump and his influence is reflected in the President-elect’s broad embrace of fracking.

The transition team at the Department of Interior (DOI) is being led by David Bernhardt, who served as the Interior Department’s solicitor during the George W. Bush Administration. Forrest Lucas, the 74-year-old co-founder of oil products company Lucas Oil, is seen as the top contender for Interior secretary. Other names in play for the DOI top spots include many current and former members of Congress.

The transition team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is being led by former Representative Bob Walker (R-PA) and Mark Albrecht. In twenty years representing Pennsylvania, Walker chaired the House Science Committee and the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. Albrecht is currently chairman of the board of U.S. Space LLC and was a principal space advisor to President George H.W. Bush. Both are seen as pro-space and have been mentioned as possible NASA administrators. NASA could see some increased attention, especially favoring the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, likely at the expense of the Earth Science Division.

Harold Hamm, in addition to being a leading contender at DOE is seen as a possibility to lead Interior. Although in a Nov. 9 email to Continental Resources employees, he stated that he is staying in Oklahoma.

Robert Grady is a name being bandied about for a variety of positions, including DOE, EPA, and DOI. A venture capitalist and partner at Gryphon Investors, Grady is a close advisor to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and has worked in Congress, in former New Jersey Governor Kean’s administration and in President George H.W. Bush’s White House.

White House positions are also up for grabs. Mike Catanzaro, a former Hill staffer now and energy lobbyist, is seen as the leading contender for “energy czar.” The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is expected to go to Marty Hall, vice president at FirstEnergy and former CEQ chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration.

The prominence of industry leaders, venture capitalists and science-skeptics as prospective cabinet-level appointments is raising concern among many.

All of the information above is subject to change as President-elect Donald Trump’s transition unfolds. Late Friday, Vice President-elect Mike Pence replaced New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as leader of the transition team. Christie had been rumored as a prospect for Attorney General or Director of Homeland Security. Speculation is that the recent conviction of two Christie aides in the “Bridgegate” controversy played a role in his repalcement. That scandal is thought to complicate any possible confirmation hearing.

This is a developing story, and some statements in this article will change.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) gained a strong measure of support when Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, was named chief of staff to President-elect Donald Trump. Preibus is a long-time insider of the national Republican Party. He and Ryan have a long-standing friendship dating back to 1997, when Ryan was preparing for his first run for Congress. Ryan credits Preibus with persuading him to run for Speaker after the resignation of John Boehner (R-OH).

Ryan had been facing a potentially difficult road to a new term as House Speaker with challenges from the conservative House Freedom Caucus. The Trump victory and appointment of Preibus has blunted that threat. Ryan is now expected to win reelection as Speaker for the 115th Congress, beginning January 3, in a vote of House Republicans Tuesday, November 15.

Mark Meadows (R-NC), a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, noted: “To focus on leadership-as long as that leadership is extremely supportive of the Trump administration-would be a misplaced effort.” He added, however, “If there is any impediment to accomplishing what President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence want to accomplish in the first 100 days, there will be a number of us in the HFC [House Freedom Caucus] and outside the HFC who are willing to say: Wait a minute.”

House Committee Chairs are likely to remain stable, except where term-limited by House Republican Conference Rules to no more than three consecutive terms. Notable Committee chair changes of interest to the ecological community are Energy and Commerce and Appropriations.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI) is term-limited and has not sought a waiver to continue. Leading contenders to replace Upton include Representatives Joe Barton (R-TX) and Greg Walden (R-OR), with Barton expected to prevail.

Appropriations Chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) is also term-limited and has not sought a waiver. The likely successor to Rogers is Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), who is currently chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Interestingly, Rogers has expressed interest in the Defense Subcommittee chair that would be vacated by Frelinghuysen and is favored to assume that position.

Another position of interest is chair of the Committee on Rules, which determines procedures for considering individual bills by the full House. This is an important position that has been pivotal in recent legislative battles.

Under Republican Conference rules, the Speaker chooses the Rules chair, currently Pete Session (R-TX). Appointed by former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Sessions has been a loyal ally of Speaker Ryan. The new Congress gives Ryan his first opportunity to make his own appointment here, but so far Ryan has shown little interest in replacing Sessions.

The Ryan/Preibus nexus signals the intent of the Trump administration to work with established Republican leadership. It is worth noting, however, that Trump named campaign CEO Steve Bannon as his “Chief Strategist” and senior counselor in the White House. Bannon as executive chairman of Brietbart News has long condemned Ryan’s leadership and has repeatedly called for his ouster, seeking to “destroy” Ryan. In the White House release naming Bannon and Priebus’ new positions, Bannon was the first listed, causing some to speculate on levels of influence.

Lingering tensions between Speaker Ryan, the House Freedom Caucus and chief strategist Bannon mark a challenging beginning to the Speaker’s likely new term, if he is reelected.

This is a developing story, and some statements in this article will change.

Senate Republican leadership votes have not yet been scheduled, but are expected as soon as this week. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is widely expected to remain Senate Majority Leader, after helping manage a largely successful defense of the Senate Republican majority. McConnell’s continuing tenure appears to be more stable than House Speaker Ryan’s.

Republican Senate committee chairs, as in the House, are limited to three terms by Senate Republican Conference rules. Most of the chair positions are expected to remain unchanged. Committees of interest with term-limited chairs include Appropriations, and Environment and Public Works.

Appropriations Chair Thad Cochran (R-MS) is term-limited and has not sought a waiver. Richard Shelby (R-AL) is the likely successor although Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is also mentioned as a possibility.

Environment and Public Works Chair James Inhofe (R-OK) is also term-limited and has not sought a waiver. John Barrasso, (R-WY) is the anticipated successor, but Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) is mentioned as a possibility.

The biggest challenge for Senate Republican leadership is attracting enough Democratic support to overcome possible filibusters, which are allowed in the Senate but not the House. Current Senate rules require 60 votes to end a filibuster, although this rule may change. The Republican Senate majority narrowed from 54 to 44 in the 114th Congress to only 51 to 48 in the upcoming 115th. (Note that Louisiana’s Senate race is unresolved with a runoff scheduled for December 10 between John Kennedy (R) and Foster Campbell (D). Kennedy is favored to win.)

“Although the US election promises great changes, the laws of nature will remain unchanged. These include the dependence of human welfare on clean water, clean air, well managed fish populations, abundant bees to pollinate our crops, and healthy ecosystems that provide the many other services that allow people to live happy and productive lives. The Ecological Society of America will remain a source of discovery, knowledge and analysis to understand and manage biodiversity and ecosystems. As the largest society of professional ecologists in the world, ESA manifests the importance of innovative scientific research, and stands ready to share our knowledge with a new US president and Congress. This has been the case since its founding in 1915, and will be ever more important in a world which demands more and more from nature.”

Planetary Health / GeoHealth Inaugural Annual Meeting

April 10 – 11, 2017

A Joint Conference Sponsored by the Planetary Health Alliance, American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America, and The Lancet Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation

Planetary Health is the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends (see Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health). Planetary Health and GeoHealth research focuses on quantifying the human health impacts of accelerating environmental change. In some instances these health impacts are direct (e.g., warming global temperatures causing more heat stress or biomass burning leading to cardiorespiratory disease from particulate air pollution); in other instances they are mediated through complex ecological pathways (e.g., multiple environmental drivers affecting fisheries structures with resulting nutritional impacts or sea level rise, loss of coastal barrier systems, and more extreme storms leading to environmental migration and attendant health consequences for coastal populations).

To catalyze this interdisciplinary field and raise awareness among funding agencies, publishers, and the broader research community, the Planetary Health Alliance along with the American Geophysical Union, the Ecological Society of America and The Lancet are organizing this Inaugural Annual Meeting on Planetary Health and GeoHealth on April 10-11, 2017 in Washington, DC. The meeting is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation through a grant to the Planetary Health Alliance.

All researchers from any discipline relevant to Planetary Health and GeoHealth are invited to submit an abstract describing a study that has recently been conducted, or a project currently in process. We encourage submissions relating to the approaches, methods, tools, and indicators to assess how, where, and why environmental change leads to meaningful public health impacts. There are many research themes captured within Planetary Health and GeoHealth, including climate change impacts on human health; environmental change and food systems/human nutrition; land use change and vector-borne disease; urbanization and mental health; zoonotic disease emergence; freshwater scarcity and communicable diseases; natural disasters and human displacement; and air quality impacts of deforestation, etc. Please visit www.planetaryhealthalliance.org to peruse relevant themes.

Accepted abstracts may be chosen for an oral or poster presentation. A selected group of abstracts that have been accepted for oral or poster presentation will also be published by The Lancet in a booklet of “Top Abstracts in Planetary Health” released in conjunction with the Annual Meeting. Authors of those abstracts accepted for oral presentations or The Lancet publication will have their registration fees waived. Some priority will be given to showcasing the work of early career investigators in The Lancet publication and conference presentations.

Abstracts should be 300 words maximum in length and present detailed information on the design of the study and preliminary results. Attention should be given to describing the impact of a change in the structure or function of one or more natural systems on a dimension (or dimensions) of human health. Abstracts should be written in English, and contain no references, tables, or figures and include background (including context and aim), methods, findings, and interpretation. Please also include a non-declamatory title (including a study descriptor—e.g., randomized); names, titles, highest degrees, and affiliations of authors; postal and email addresses for the corresponding author; any funding received (if none, please state this); and a brief summary of the contributions of each author and any competing interests.

ALEXANDRIA, VA, October 27, 2016—The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking to fund environmental research and development proposals. SERDP is DoD’s environmental science and technology program, planned and executed in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with participation by numerous other Federal and non-Federal organizations. The Program invests across the broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced development.

Proposals responding to focused Statements of Need (SONs) in the following areas are requested:

Environmental Restoration — Research and technologies for the characterization, risk assessment, remediation, and management of contaminants in soil, sediments, and water.

Munitions Response — Technologies for the detection, classification, and remediation of military munitions on U.S. lands and waters.

Resource Conservation and Climate Change — Research that advances DoD’s management of its natural and cultural resources and improves understanding of climate change impacts.

Weapons Systems and Platforms — Research and technologies to reduce, control, and understand the sources of waste and emissions in the manufacturing, maintenance, and use of weapons systems and platforms.

Proposals responding to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 SONs will be selected through a competitive process. Separate solicitations are available to Federal and non-Federal proposers. The SONs and detailed instructions are available on the SERDP website.

The Core SERDP Solicitation provides funding in varying amounts for multi-year projects. All Core Solicitation pre-proposals are due to SERDP January 5, 2017 by 2:00 p.m. ET.

SERDP also will be funding environmental research and development through the SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation. The SEED Solicitation is designed to provide a limited amount of funding (not to exceed $200,000) for projects up to approximately one year in duration to investigate innovative approaches that entail high technical risk or require supporting data to provide proof of concept. This year, SERDP is requesting SEED proposals for the Munitions Response program area. The SONs and detailed instructions are available on the SERDP website. All SEED proposals are due March 7, 2017 by 2:00 p.m. ET.

LEARN MORE ABOUT
FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH SERDP­!

Participate in the webinar“SERDP Funding Opportunities” conducted by SERDP Executive Director Dr. Herb Nelson and Deputy Director Dr. Andrea Leeson on November 4, 2016, from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET. This briefing will offer valuable information for those who are interested in new funding opportunities with SERDP. During the online seminar, participants may ask questions about the funding process, the current SERDP solicitation, and the proposal submission process. Pre-registration for this webinar is required. If you have difficulty registering, please contact the SERDP Support Office at serdp-estcp.webinars@noblis.org or by telephone at 571-372-6565.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, October 24, that species listings under the Endangered Species Act may be based on climate models showing future habitat loss. The San Francisco based court vacated a 2014 U.S. District Court of Alaska summary judgment and instead supported the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) listing of Beringia and Okhotsk bearded seals.

The case challenged NMFS’s reliance on projections of habitat loss due to climate change in listing the Beringia bearded seal as threatened. The Alaska court’s ruling, by Judge Ralph Beistline, had found that NMFS had made an “arbitrary and capricious decision” when it listed the seals, calling it “hollow speculation.” The 9th Circuit Court’s unanimous ruling in the case, Alaska Oil and Gas Ass’n v. Pritzker, 9th Cir., No. 14-35806, directly contradicts the lower court ruling.

The NMFS listing decision was based in part on projections that shallow ice sheets relied on by the two seal species for birthing and mating would likely disappear by 2095, forcing the seals to move to shore locations, which would remove them from food sources and expose them to their primary predators, polar bears and walruses. Plaintiffs in the Alaska case contended that climate change predictions beyond 50 years were unreliable. The lower court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs was appealed by NMFS and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Judge Richard Paez, in writing Monday’s opinion for the 9th Circuit, stated that “The ESA does not require NMFS to base its decision on ironclad evidence when it determines that a species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future; it simply requires the agency to consider the best and most reliable scientific and commercial data and to identify the limits of that data when making a listing determination.”

The amendment, agreed to on October 15 in Kigali, Rwanda, will see a reduction in HFCs use by more than 80% by 2047 and could avoid up to 0.5° C in warming by 2100. It represents the first major step toward implementing the Paris Agreement.

The Kigali Amendment, unlike the voluntary Paris Agreement, mandates specific targets and timelines to replace HFCs, sanctions for violations and funding from richer countries to help lesser-developed countries in their transition to costlier alternatives.

Hydrofluorocarbons are greenhouse gases commonly used in a wide variety of applications, including refrigeration and air conditioning (~79%), building insulation and other foam products (~11%), aerosols (~5%), fire extinguishing systems (~4%), and solvents (~1%). HFCs have high global warming potential. The most commonly used HFC is HFC-134a, which is estimated to be 1,430 times more damaging to the climate system than carbon dioxide.

Although a greenhouse gas, HFCs are controlled under the Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances rather than the recently ratified Paris Agreement of December 2015 on global greenhouse gases. This was driven by consensus recognition of the serious detrimental impact of HFCs on climate change.

President Obama called the deal “an ambitious and far-reaching solution to this looming crisis,” in a White House Statement.

A White House Fact Sheet on the Kigali Amendment notes that the agreement is widely supported by industry, including major producers such as Chemours, Dow Chemical and Honeywell, and users such as Carrier, Coca-Cola, Johnson Controls, Kroger, PepsiCo, Target and others.

The Kigali Amendment, will enter into force in January 2019, provided that it is ratified by at least 20 parties. If that condition is not met by 2019, the Amendment will become effective 90 days after 20 parties ratify it. The full text of the amendment and other decisions taken at the Kigali meeting may be found on the Ozone Secretariat Conference Portal.

Seven species of yellow-faced bees (genus Hylaeus), the only genus of bee native to Hawai’i, were listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under a final rule released on September 30 that is effective October 31, 2016. The listing, the first-ever for a bee, specifically notes the impact of habitat destruction and modification from human activity, non-native plants and animals, and increased wildfire intensity and duration. Ironically, the final rule does not include designation of any critical habitat areas.

The listing of yellow-faced bees comes just days after USFWS announced a proposed rule to list as endangered the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), a species that occurs in the Eastern and Midwestern United States and also Ontario, Canada. The proposed rule points to habitat loss and degradation, farming, disease, pesticide and climate change as factors contributing the bumble bee’s decline.

The public comment period on the proposed listing of the rusty patched bumble is open. Further information is provided below and may be found in the online docket folder, FWS-R3-ES-2015-0112.

Six years after the Depp Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a federal judge approved a $20.8 billion settlement on October 20 between the federal government and BP. Clean Water Act penalties of $5.5 are included in the agreed settlement with most of the remaining $16 billion going to five states in Gulf Coast for ecosystem restoration.

On October 21, the Obama administration released a memorandum (M-17-01) providing guidance to the five federal agencies involved in reviewing and permitting of Gulf Coast environmental restoration projects.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and chairman of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, in a blog post on the memo, commented, “. . . it is vital that the federal agencies be as efficient as possible in designing, analyzing and ultimately putting meaningful restoration projects on the ground in each of the states.” He continued, “At the same time, it is critical that we improve the efficiency and timeliness of permitting and other regulatory reviews required to implement these projects.”

A bid to decommission four dams along the Klamath River, owned by PacifiCorp, receives a strong boost with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Secretary Kimberly Bose. The letter, dated October 17, strongly supports the decommissioning petition filed by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation with FERC on September 23.

“In short, dam removal can re-write a painful chapter in our history, and it can be done in a manner that protects the many interests in the Basin,” Jewell wrote. She continued, “The recommendation and determination I am making today are not entered into lightly. Rather, I do so in reliance on the most comprehensive and robust analysis of dam removal ever undertaken.”

The four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River produce hydroelectric power. Federal environmental agencies recommended that the dams need retrofitting to provide fish passages. The Oregon and California public utility commissions found that decommissioning the dams was a prudent alternative.

Known as the Lower Klamath Project, the initiative seeks to decommission and remove four of the five dams along the Klamath River, the J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate. The Klamath Corporation was formed to oversee the dam removal process. Dam removal should begin in 2020 if FERC approves the pending applications.

ESA hosted a webinar with a FAA expert guest presenter who reviewed the new rules for unmanned operating systems, commonly referred to as drones. The recorded webinar is now available for viewing on ESA’s Vimeo channel.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Coalition sent letters to House and Senate leadership last week urging passage of a FY 2017 Interior Appropriations bill, rather than a year-long continuing resolution. The letters argue that such stop-gap funding would harm the agency’s work and the stakeholders depending on its products and services, as well as inhibit long-term planning.

USGC Coalition is an alliance of over 70 organizations, including the Ecological Society of America, committed to the continued vitality of the unique combination of biological, geographical, geological, and hydrological programs of the USGS.

U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of AgricultureForest Resource Coordinating Committee
The United States Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations for the Forest Resource Coordinating Committee. Written nominations must be received by November 14, 2016

Request for Comment
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceEndangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that listing the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), a species that occurs in the eastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada, is warranted. Public comments on the species status assessment used for the proposed listing are invited. The proposed rule, supporting documents and comments received to date may be found in docket folder FWS-R3-ES-2015-0112. Comments will be accepted which are received or postmarked by November 21, 2016.

Funding Opportunities
Northwest and Southeast Climate Science Centers
U.S. Geological ServiceCSC Recompetition
Applications must be submitted through the grants.gov portal by January 12, 2017 at 3:00 PM EST.

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Request for Proposals for 2018-2019
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative has announced its Request for Proposals for 2018-2019 to fund research activities for the period from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019.

The American Meteorological Society’s 2017 Annual Meeting will be held 22–26 January 2017 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington.

The theme for the 2017 AMS Annual Meeting is “Observations Lead the Way.” The meeting will feature numerous town hall meetings and side panel discussions along with daily weather briefings that will be held during the lunch break each day beginning on Monday, 23 January, and will be hosted by both the local National Weather Service Forecast Office and the University of Washington. The AMS Annual Meeting is host to the largest exhibit program anywhere in the atmospheric, oceanic, and related sciences. Exhibitors come from all over the United States and abroad, with over 100 organizations showcasing a wide range of products, publications, and services. The show provides organizations with a forum to make major announcements and roll out new products. Demonstrations of new and innovative equipment are given daily. The exhibit schedule is designed to both encourage social interaction and provide an opportunity to look at future trends in equipment, systems, and software.

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by eight short courses, the 16th Annual WeatherFest, a briefing for first-time attendees to the meeting, the 97th Annual Review, New Fellows and Featured Awards, and a Welcome Reception.

Now accepting applications

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs sponsors a 10-week summer internship program for students majoring in homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) disciplines.
The program provides students with quality research experiences at federal research facilities located across the country and allows students the opportunity to establish connections with DHS professionals. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students in a broad spectrum of HS-STEM disciplines and DHS mission-relevant Research Areas.

]]>DARPA Ecology/Evolution Opportunityhttp://www.esa.org/esa/darpa-ecologyevolution-opportunity/
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 18:17:33 +0000http://www.esa.org/esa/?p=20237Continue reading →]]>DARPA Ecology/Evolution Opportunity: Young Faculty Award – a 2-year grant for ~$500K to faculty who are 8 or less years into their job

DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) opportunity. YFAs is an accolade, but at its core is a 2-year grant for ~$500K to faculty who are 8 or less years into their job.

Please note topic #s 12 (“Ecological niche-preference Engineering) and 16 (“Novel Approaches to Reduce Agricultural Loss and Increase Crop Productivity”). This grant is a great opportunity to get kinda “out there” work funded.

From now until 1 November interested parties can submit short summaries that will get a “thumbs up/down” to help them move forward or not with their idea. After that proposals will open up and will be due on 18 January 2017.